The chemical reaction that occurs when the mints meet the soda can hardly be described but let me try - an instantaneous brown geyser reaching 15 feet in milliseconds. But why be restrained by mere words when we live in a world of multi-media?

Like the same unstoppable force rushing from the bottle of Diet Coke, videos that document the fun of this simple experiment are pouring onto Google Video and YouTube.

In the past month nearly one thousand amateur videos have been posted to the Internet showing variations of this unique experiment involving the “freshmaker.” There are more to come as the phenomena grows.

The Wall Street Journal notes, “The popularity of the videos -- Mentos says it has found some 800 online -- is producing a gusher of free publicity….’We are tickled pink by it.’ says Pete Healy, vice president of marketing for the company's U.S. division.

While other brands like FedEx have stopped unauthorized brand evangelism (see fedexfurniture.com), Mentos likes the buzz. The company spends less than $20 million on U.S. advertising annually but estimates the online viral promotion to be worth “over $10 million." Mentos offers free ringtones and screensavers and wall paper of its corny commercials.

The video that has garnered the most eyeballs is truly fascinating, funny, artistic and creative. No wonder it has caught on.

I tried my own experiment (thanks for the tip Tim) and I admit, the hype is not over done. It was good times.

Here is what I used to think of when I heard Mentos mentioned – goofy commercials and Dave Grohl’s parody in the FooFighters “Big Me” video (it won an MTV video award – another free coup for Mentos). Now it is the crazy reaction that a few of the tasty candies elicit when mixed with Diet Coke (and the fun).